Report: Bjorkstrand, Gourde Traded to Lightning; Kraken Get 2 1st-Round Picks, More

Yanni Gourde is back with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Seattle Kraken are trading Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand to the Lightning in exchange for a haul including two top-ten protected first-rounders.

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman first reported the trade Wednesday. The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta broke down the details:

The Kraken received 2026 and 2027 first-round picks, as well as a 2025 second-round pick and center Michael Eyssimont, per TSN's Pierre LeBrun.

The first-rounders are top-ten protected, per Pagnotta. The second-round pick originally belonged to the Toronto Maple Leafs, per LeBrun.

The Lightning received Gourde and Bjorkstrand alongside a 2025 fifth-rounder and Harvard defenseman Kyle Aucoin, per LeBrun and Pagnotta.

The deal also involves the Detroit Red Wings, who will retain 25 percent of Gourde's $5.2 million salary, per LeBrun. The Kraken are eating another 50 percent of Gourde's salary, per Pagnotta.

The Red Wings will receive a 2025 fourth-rounder in return. The pick will either come from the Lightning or the Edmonton Oilers depending on whose fourth-round selection is highest, per Pagnotta.

The trade allows the Kraken to stock up for the future, while the Lightning will add forward depth ahead of their fight for a better playoff seeding.

Bjorkstrand was skating on the Kraken's second line alongside Chandler Stephenson prior to the trade. He had 16 goals and 21 assists for 37 points in 61 games.

After spending the first seven seasons of his NHL career with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Bjorkstrand was traded to the Kraken ahead of the 2022-23 season.

He has been one of the Kraken's most consistent forwards over the last three years and was on pace for his fourth straight 20-goal season prior to the trade. He is likely to see time on the Lightning's power play, potentially on the second unit.

Gourde, who returned Tuesday after missing two months following sports hernia surgery, served as Seattle's fourth-line center when available. He recorded six goals and 11 assists for 17 points in 36 games.

The center spent the first six seasons of his career in Tampa Bay, where he served as a key depth piece in the Lightning's back-to-back Stanley Cup runs prior to his selection by the Kraken in the 2021 expansion draft. He is now likely to resume his previous role as a go-to penalty killer for the Bolts.

Bjorkstrand is signed through the 2025-26 season at $5.4 million per year.

Gourde is meanwhile playing on an expiring deal. He said the night before the trade that "there's been communication" between himself and the Kraken about an extension, per NHL.com's Geoff Baker.

At the time of the trade the Lightning sat third in the Atlantic Division, comfortably ahead of a Wild Card spot but within range of leapfrogging the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs for the division lead.

The Kraken are 11 points back of the last Wild Card spot in the West. The team will likely replace Gourde with Eyssimont on the fourth line while preparing to build out the prospect pool with four first-round picks between 2026 and 2027.